


Private Party

by Golden_Asp



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon Divergence - Avengers (2012), Coulson deserves to have his cards signed, M/M, Phil Coulson's Trading Card Collection, Post-Avengers (2012), ignores Agents of Shield, kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-02
Packaged: 2019-10-02 19:39:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17269862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Golden_Asp/pseuds/Golden_Asp
Summary: In the weeks after the Battle of New York, Steve finds out that Coulson isn't dead.  He goes to see him in the hospital to take him back his cards.  Coulson is less than thrilled to realize Fury got his cards bloody.





	Private Party

**Author's Note:**

> I was watching The Avengers with my mom today and this idea hit me. I adore Coulson, and his death scene gets me every freaking time. I just want him to get his cards signed, damn it.
> 
> This ignores Agents of Shield, assumes that Coulson survived even if Fury said he didn't. Stephen Strange makes an appearance as a doctor with terrible bedside manner and I love that man.
> 
> not beta-ed

Steve Rogers ran his fingers over the bloody Captain America cards. They weren’t even tacky anymore, the blood soaked into his own images. He couldn’t help the wry smile that crossed his face as he looked at one of the cards. 

He never had gotten the chance to punch Hitler in the face, no matter what the card showed.

He stood up, sliding the cards carefully into his shirt pocket. He stood at the window, hands clasped behind his back. It had only been weeks since the Battle of New York, weeks since he’d seen aliens with his own eyes and fought side by side with a man who proclaimed himself to be a god.

“So, we have good news,” Tony Stark said, walking in. Steve turned to him. He still didn’t trust Tony Stark, even if the man had surprised the heck out of him by flying that nuke into the portal. Maybe, just maybe, he’d been wrong about Stark.

“Yeah?” Steve asked.

“Coulson just woke up.”

“Fury told us he was dead!” Steve said.

“Yeah. Shock of shocks, he lied. Again. Hill got him to surgery and it was touch and go for a while, but he pulled through.”

“Why are you just telling me now?”

Tony rolled his eyes so hard that they nearly disappeared into the back of his skull. “In case you missed it, half my building was in ruins. I was a little busy getting it repaired. Plus, Jarvis just told me. Shield servers were a mess after that. Bunch of little shits running around like chickens with their heads cut off.”

“Language,” Steve said. Tony snorted, crossing his arms.

“Anyway, Spangles, Coulson is awake and we’re having a party tomorrow. Figured since Agent is your biggest fan, you could take him the invite.” Tony half shoved an envelope into Steve’s hand. 

“I’m out. See you tomorrow. You better be there.”

Steve shook his head as Tony strolled out of the room, talking to his AI. He looked at the half crumpled envelope in his hand and felt the cards in his pocket. The envelope had the address of a nearby hospital and room number on the back of it. 

He grabbed his leather jacket and headed to the street and his waiting motorcycle. The roads were still half destroyed, human and alien bodies still being pulled from the rubble. He passed numerous recovery teams, heading for Metro General Hospital. 

He parked his bike and jogged up the steps. Luckily for him, visiting hours were still happening.

He stopped a haggard looking doctor. Steve knew that the hospitals had been crowded and overrun with people since the attack, and the doctor looked like he wanted to strangle Steve rather than help him.

“You don’t seem hurt,” the doctor said bluntly.

Steve’s eyes dropped to the doctor’s name tag. “Forgive me, Doctor, um, Strange, but I’m just looking for Phil Coulson? Room 314, maybe.”

The doctor let out a long suffering sigh. “Coulson. Stabbed through the chest, multiple contusions. Died four times on the table. Take the elevator and turn right. Check in with the nurses and they’ll show you to his room.”

“Thank you, Doctor Strange. I appreciate it,” Steve said, shaking the doctor’s hand. He was surprised at the strength in his grip.

Doctor Strange just arched his eyebrow, looking at him like he was a bug on the bottom of his boot. Steve gave the man a winning smile and turned to the elevator. 

“Some bedside manner that guy has,” Steve muttered to himself, heading to the nurse’s station. He signed his name and went to Coulson’s room, knocking gently on the door.

There was no answer so Steve opened the door a crack. Coulson looked smaller than Steve remembered in the bed. The heart monitor beeped steadily and Steve could see Coulson’s chest rising and falling steadily. He closed the door and leaned against it, watching the man for a bit.

He wasn’t sure how long he stood there watching Coulson sleep. Eventually, Coulson started to stir, fingers twitching.

“Agent Coulson?”

Coulson’s head snapped up and he hissed, grabbing his chest in pain. Steve jumped forward, grabbing his shoulders and laying him back.

“Easy there, Agent Coulson. You need to relax,” Steve said, hooking his foot around the foot of the doctor’s stool and dragging it closer.

“What are you doing here?” Coulson asked, rubbing his chest and trying to hide the grimace of pain.

“Had to see it for myself,” Steve said. “Fury told us you were dead.”

“I kind of still feel dead,” Coulson admitted.

“You look…”

“Bad?” Coulson asked with a wry smile.

“Alive, at least,” Steve said.

Coulson relaxed against the bed, idly rubbing his chest. “Better than the alternative, I guess. Now what are you really doing here, Captain?”

“You can call me Steve, you know.”

Coulson flushed, looking away briefly. Steve waited, the weight of the cards in his pocket heavy against his skin. They had barely known each other, though Coulson had apparently watched him while he slept. 

Steve couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out of his chest. Coulson looked at him.

“What?”

“I thought it was obvious what I’m doing here.”

“I just woke up from multiple surgeries after being stabbed by an angry Norse god. You’ll have to forgive me if I’m a little slow,” Coulson said. Steve grinned.

“I was watching you sleep. But not in a weird way, I promise.”

Coulson’s laugh turned into a groan and he massaged his chest again.

“Okay, maybe it was a little weird when I said that,” Coulson admitted with a smile.

“Just a bit,” Steve said. “But now we’re even.”

“I guess we are,” Coulson said, letting his head fall back against the pillows.

They sat in an easy silence, the only sound the heart monitor. Coulson glared at it like it offended him.

“I have something that belongs to you,” Steve said, carefully pulling the Captain America cards out of his pocket. Coulson’s eyes lit up and he sat up, groaning as his stitches pulled. Steve handed them to him, giving him a soft smile.

Coulson took the cards, frowning as he started looking through them.

“Why is there blood on my cards?” he asked, confusion lacing his voice.

Steve blinked, scratching his head. “Fury said you had them in your jacket pocket when you were ah…killed.”

“Son of a bitch,” Coulson said, flopping back against the pillows.

“What?” Steve asked.

“They were in my locker, not on my body. I wanted them signed, but I wasn’t going to carry them around in the middle of an intergalactic war.” He frowned at the bloody cards. “Took me forever to get some of these and Fury just wiped them through my blood. I’m so going to have words with him.”

Steve stared at Coulson, dropping his eyes to the cards. “Fury used them to rally us,” Steve said.

Coulson glanced at him. “You’re called the Avengers. He gave you something to avenge.”

“He lied to us.”

Coulson reached out and tentatively touched the back of Steve’s hand. “I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Steve said, using his free hand to rub at his face. “I’m starting to think Stark was right about Fury.”

Coulson snorted, staring at his fingers touching the back of Steve Rogers’ hand. “Don’t tell Tony that. He’ll be insufferable.”

“He’s already pretty insufferable,” Steve pointed out.

“Nah, he’s not bad once you get to know him.”

“I’ll take your word for it. Speaking of Stark, he wanted me to give you this,” Steve said, pulling the invitation out of his pocket. Coulson rested his cards in his lap and took the invitation.

“‘You are invited to the ‘I threw a nuke through a portal and lived and Coulson is less dead than Fury let on’ party,’” Coulson read.

“Is that really what it’s called?” Steve said incredulously. Coulson handed him the invitation and Steve shook his head.

“Stark is a menace,” Steve said.

“He’s good at what he does.”

“Driving everyone absolutely crazy?”

“That too,” Coulson said.

He rubbed his chest again. “I don’t know if I’ll even be out of the hospital. I know I won’t be up to a party.”

“Then we can stay here,” Steve said.

“We?” Coulson asked sharply.

Steve flushed. “Look, I’m still getting used to being out of the ice. Being around all the people I’m sure Stark has invited to this thing is a little much.”

Coulson looked at him, noticing for the first time that their hands were still touching. “Still finding things that surprise you?”

Steve looked him dead in the eye and turned his hand, taking Coulson’s in his. “Every single day.”

Coulson’s heart rate spiked, the heart monitor betraying him. He glared at it, silently cursing it.

“Maybe you could show me the sights after you get out,” Steve said.

Coulson’s heart thudded in his chest as he nodded. The door opened and the two men turned to look at the doctor.

“Doctor Strange,” Steve said.

“I don’t care what you’re doing, but keep the heart rate down or I will have you thrown out,” Strange said, staring daggers at Steve. Steve held up his free hand in surrender, watching as the doctor checked Coulson over.

“If you can keep the excitement to a dull roar you should be out in a few days,” Strange said, checking something off on his chart. “And out of my hair.”

“Doctor Strange?” Coulson asked. “I thought you were a neurosurgeon.”

Strange arched his eyebrow, shoving Coulson’s chart violently into the pocket on the door.

“I am. The sheer number of patients from the alien invasion has made us all general surgeons. There are still people we haven’t been able to treat and have been dying in the damn hallways,” Strange said. “Absolutely hell on my record,” he muttered as an afterthought.

Steve gave him a look. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know what that meant.

“Well, thank you for saving me,” Coulson said.

“Your case was actually interesting,” Strange said. “And challenging.”

“Always glad to provide a challenge,” Coulson said. Strange nodded once and checked his clipboard, stalking out of the room.

“He seems friendly,” Steve said dryly.

“He’s one of the best neurosurgeons in the world,” Coulson said with a shrug, his hand still trapped in Steve’s larger one. “I think he has the right to be a dick.”

“How do you know that?”

“Shield has him under observation. I imagine Fury got him to perform my surgery somehow.”

“Does the doctor know he’s under observation?”

“The point of observation is they don’t know,” Coulson pointed out.

Steve grunted. He wasn’t entirely sure what he thought about that, but he decided to let it go.

“So, about that party?”

“Stark’s, or the one you offered me here?”

“The one here.”

“You, me, and whatever crappy soap opera we can find on the hospital TV?” Coulson asked.

“Sounds like a date,” Steve said.

Coulson’s mouth fell open as Steve realized what he’d said. Both men turned red, looking away from each other. Coulson’s heart monitor beeped rapidly in the silence.

“Uh, I mean, dang it,” Steve muttered.

“It’s a date only if you bring something besides hospital food,” Coulson said, squeezing Steve’s hand.

Steve grinned. “I can do that.”

“Good,” Coulson said. “I hate to be like Tony, but I’d kill someone for a cheeseburger. But a good one. Not that Burger King crap.”

“Burgers I can do,” Steve said.

“And a milkshake. Strawberry.”

“Your wish is my command,” Steve said, offering a salute. Coulson grinned at him and Steve squeezed his hand, thumb tracing the back of Coulson’s hand.

They watched TV until visiting hours were over and a Doctor Palmer politely asked him to leave. Steve waved somewhat awkwardly as he left, feeling more buoyant than he had since he’d been pulled out of the ice.

After his run the next morning, Steve’s gaze was caught by something in a store front that miraculously hadn’t been destroyed in the battle. He pushed open the door and picked it up.

He had never been so glad that Shield had given him a bank account and that Hill had shown him how a debit card worked. He was also grateful for the fact that he was apparently paid.

He thanked the old man behind the counter and tucked his purchase into his pocket. He rode to a burger joint, ordering two big cheeseburgers and two milkshakes with a big order of fries. He secured it all to his bike and rode to the hospital. It was surprisingly easy to get the burgers into the hospital to Coulson’s room.

Coulson looked up as Steve walked in, bag tucked under his arm and drink carrier in hand.

“Gimme,” Coulson said, reaching out to him. Steve laughed and handed Coulson his strawberry milkshake. Coulson took a drink and winced.

“Brain freeze?” Steve asked, sitting down.

“Yeah, so worth it though,” Coulson said, taking another drink.

Steve laughed and pulled out the greasy burgers, setting the bowl of fries on the bed between them. Coulson popped a fry in his mouth and nearly moaned.

“Oh God, that’s so much better than the stuff they’ve been giving me.”

“Well, bad hospital food is one thing that hasn’t changed,” Steve said, taking a big bite of his burger. “Stark told me to tell you that not being released from the hospital is no excuse for missing his party. Ms. Potts told me to tell you that she’s very glad you’re not dead and to take the time you need. She said to ignore Stark, that’s what she does.”

Coulson smiled, unwrapping his burger and taking a bite. They ate in companionable silence, _General Hospital_ playing quietly in the background.

They finished their burgers and fries and Steve tossed their garbage in the trash can. He perched on the stool, eyes drawn back to the TV screen.

“Is this an accurate representation of hospitals?” Steve asked, watching the drama unfold.

Coulson snorted. “No. Although I would pay to see you ask Doctor Strange about it.”

“I do have some self-preservation, you know,” Steve said.

Coulson grinned and they watched the end of the episode together.

“This is ridiculous,” Steve said.

“Too bad _Super Nanny_ isn’t available.”

Steve arched his eyebrow. “I’m not sure I want to know.”

“That can’t be comfortable to sit on,” Coulson said after a bit, gesturing to the stool Steve was sitting on.

“It’s fine,” Steve said.

Coulson was silent for a moment and then scooted over in his bed. “This is a strangely big hospital bed. You could sit here.”

Steve looked at him, slowly getting to his feet. He carefully laid down next to Coulson, their shoulders touching.

“I’m not sure this bed is more comfortable,” Steve said.

“Don’t leave me to suffer alone,” Coulson said. Steve snorted, wriggling around slightly and finally putting his arm behind Coulson’s head.

The two barely fit in the bed together, but Steve was determined to make it work. He remembered the thing he’d bought on the way over.

“I have something for you,” Steve said.

“The burgers were plenty.”

“You’ll like this,” Steve said, reaching into his pocket.

He handed Coulson a mint condition Captain America trading card, blood free, with his scrawling signature on it. Coulson sat up, taking the card carefully. It had long been his favorite, and the one that had taken the longest to find. And of course it was the one that Fury had dipped in his blood. He ran his thumb over the card, staring at the signature. He felt very close to tears and was doing his damnedest not to cry.

“Steve…”

“You’re welcome, Coulson.”

“Phil. My name is Phil.”

“Phil,” Steve said, his voice warm.

Phil looked at him, surprised at how close Steve was. His eyes were drawn to Steve’s lips and he quickly looked away.

“Phil,” Steve said again. Phil’s eyes fluttered closed as Steve cupped his jaw, thumb tracing his cheek. Steve pulled him close and pressed his lips against the corner of Phil’s mouth. Phil sucked in a surprised breath, eyes flying open.

Steve pulled back, cheeks very red. “Was that weird?”

Phil stared at him, his heartrate monitor going crazy. He shook his head minutely, hand twitching in Steve’s grip.

“What was that for?” Phil asked.

Steve shrugged self-consciously. “Just…your death, the battle, watching Stark fly that nuke into the wormhole…it all made me realize that I’m tired of wishing for the past. I’m here now, and I don’t want to miss anything because I’m too overwhelmed by the world.”

Phil watched him, smiling slightly. Steve managed a slight grin.

“Are you sure it wasn’t weird? You haven’t said anything…” Steve said a few minutes later.

“It was surprising, not unwelcome and yeah, maybe a little weird.”

“Oh,” Steve said, suddenly unsure.

Phil reached up, cupping the back of Steve’s head and yanking him closer. “Kiss me again, Captain.”

“Yes, sir,” Steve said, grinning against Phil’s lips.

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are love!


End file.
